Having a fissure is really rubbish, I got my fissure whilst on holiday in China I had such bad food poisoning followed by 9 days without pooping when I finally did poo... Ouch ouch ouch! This was three years ago.

I was given the following treatments which did not work

-Lactulose and fibogel- actually made me constipated I had never had problems with constipation until my fissure but the stress I believe actually made me constipated

-Rectogesic- tried for 2 years did nothing

- Surgery- I ended up having to have surgery- Botox up the bum. This is serious stuff they put you under general anaesthetic. If you can avoid this I really would try as it wasn't even very effective. After the surgery they sent me home with fibogel and lactulose again even though I told them it did nothing. I was so anxious I got really constipated and some of my stiches from where they removed the sentinel skin tag above my fissures broke. Lots of blood.

- I was using over the counter laxatives like Dulcoease but these are not good for you to take long term and are really impractical for a job like mine- teacher- as I had to run out of class a few times... Eek!

They finally gave me Movicol and it was like - hallelujah! Why has no one given this before it actually works! It makes you bloated but is relatively gentle. You can buy it online. I would really recommend having this around allthough see point 4
I tried so many whacky remedies- witch hazel, Vicks vaporub( would not recomend- felt very spicey!) sits baths- did nothing,some weird Chinese herbal remedies, acupuncture none of these did anything and some made it worse.

Even after all this I was still having problems so these are my top tips:

1)SQUATTY POTTY buy yourself a squatty potty NOW! It has helped so much! It's basically a step you put under your toilet to put your feet on and put you in the natural position for pooping ;squatting. It sounds undignified but it's fine they make them out of wood so they look nice it really really has helped you can feel from the first poop there is less pressure on the muscles at the bottom of the sphincter ( where most fissures occur) and instead the muscles at the top of the sphincter seem to work more efficiently. Stick with it. It won't make you fissure free instantly but give it a few months and I recon you will notice the difference and all round feel much happier about going to the loo.

2) DILTIAZAM- demand from your Dr that they give you Diltiazam I'm in the Uk the NHS can give this to you for free but they are reluctant to as it's very expensive. My GP said it was £95 a tube but he justified it by saying 'another round of surgery would cost the NHS about £2000' so it was worth trying. It was itchy as hell and really uncomfortable but it really really works. It kinda dried the edges of my fissures so they felt a little scabby but in a good way -at least they didn't seem like open wounds.

3) COCONUT OIL -Use cold pressed organic coconut oil every time you go to the loo. Put it a little way up your anus ( 1 cm max). It is soothing, cooling and lubricates the area so the poops can glide out. It's all natural so you can use as much as you want.

4) HYPNOTHERAPY- I am not using any kind of stool softeners now. As I say, I think my constipation was due to anxiety about my fissure which I was thinking about constantly. I would cry a lot and struggle to get to sleep with the spasms occurring. I went to a hypnotherapist who basically calmed me down about it and stopped me thinking about it do much. It was quite dramatic effect after two sessions I would say there was a 60% reduction in how much I thought about it and this in turn had a positive impact upon my bowels. I now have a regular bowel habit with soft poops without using stool softeners or making crazy changes to my diet I have always eaten healthily- lots of veg and fibre. I'm no hippy I was sceptical but desperate but this really did work.

I'm not sure my fissures are 100% gone but I think after three years of suffering I am about 80% better when I poo now there is a slight snagging sensation but no pain and no spasaming and no discomfort between poos.

Really good to hear stories like this, good for you. I use the coconut oil but struggle to insert, any clues here? I will definitely be having a look into hypnotherapy. Fear is most of my problem now. Anxiety of anticipated pain and what could follow pain ie. weeks of misery. It doesn't help does it. Thank you Emily 5454.